I read this article from Psychology Today and I thought of sharing these tips here with you. It is particularly written for introverts and as I am an introvert myself, the tips really resonated well with me. The article is about how to thrive in a world that can’t stop talking. Are you an introverted speaker? Well then read these public speaking tips to help you face your audience and deliver your speech or presentation with more confidence than ever.

1. For many speakers — and especially for introverts — preparation is key. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

2. Think about what your particular audience wants to hear. Again, it’s always about the audience and not about you. That should take the pressure off of your shoulders.

3. If you haven’t spoken publicly in a while and feel rusty, watch videos of speakers that have shots taken from the speaker’s vantage point, where you can see what it’s like to face the audience. TED Talks have a lot of these videos. Just imagine that you’re the speaker. Visualization is really the key.

4. Similarly, if you can, visit the room where you’ll be speaking. – Again, to help you with visualizing yourself in there.

5. When you listen to a great speaker or hear someone mention one, get a transcript of the speech. This way, you can study it and learn from it.

6. Keep a video diary or video blog. This way, you’ll have an idea of how you talk, what facial expressions you use, if you have annoying mannersims, if you look interesting to look at, etc. If you see anything wrong, then you can change it or improve on it.

7. Know your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker, and accentuate the positive. It’s similar to the saying “see the glass half full”. Focus on what you’re good at or what you do best and deliver it.

8. At the same time, public speaking is a performance, and that’s a good thing, even if you’re not a natural actor. Think of it as having an onstage persona.

9. Smile at your audience as they enter the room, and smile at them when you begin speaking. This will make you feel confident and relaxed.

10. Here is a funny tip from a reader of the Happiness Project. It’s probably not the best advice, but it will make you laugh:

“My eighth grade teacher told us all to pretend the people [in the audience] are heads of cabbages. I never quite got that one as making much sense, but to this day (40 years later) I still say that line to myself before I speak. And I laugh.”

Remember this acronym: C.A.R.E. These letters stand for Credibility, Action, Reason, and Empathy. These are the four things you will need if you want to persuade your audience to do something or not do something or compel them to do whatever it is that you are advocating, selling or teaching.

Action – Be clear about what action you want done and ask your audience to do it.

Reason – Provide a good enough reason that will resonate with the values of your audience so that they’ll be compelled to take action.

Empathy – Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Understand their reasons and show respect for them, and then metaphorically put your arm around their shoulder as you gently guide them to taking your desired action.

Aside from all the other tips I’ve shared with you before on how to give great presentations, here are three more that will make your presentation more powerful:

1. Match your audience’s energy level. – If you notice that your audience is the quiet type or perhaps, they’re a bit sleepy coming in to hear you talk so early in the morning, don’t come barging in on stage with super high energy. Just match their energy level and lead them to a higher level through activities, questions, etc.

2. For bigger audience, use bigger gestures. – If you’re presenting in front of a large crowd, you have to make your gestures a lot bigger and your voice much louder in order to be heard, noticed and to create impact. But if you are presenting in the midst of an intimate audience, then you can tone down your gestures a bit and adjust the volume of your voice just enough so everybody can hear you clearly.

3. Involve your audience in your presentation. – Make sure you converse with your audience right from the start. Ask questions. Get them involved in an activity. Have a dialogue with them. This will get them hooked on your presentation right from the beginning.

We’ve all been through high school and I’m pretty sure we were taught the same general “principles” when it comes to presenting or speaking in public. Unfortunately, these lessons are all lies. Don’t make the same mistake passing these things on to younger generations, and if you do still practice them, well, stop. Here are the presentation lies we were taught before:

While there’s not one surefire way to memorize a speech, there are seven simple steps that can help you get where you want to be, that is, a confident speaker who can deliver his/her lines well.

Here are the seven steps that can help you memorize your speech:

Start by writing out your script in full. – Yes, the first step is to write from the heart and write everything down. You can always edit later.

Be realistic – Don’t try to memorize your speech word for word. – While your goal is to memorize your speech, you don’t have to do it word for word. The important thing is to know the essence of your speech and memorize those important key points which you can later on expound with your own words.

We’ve all heard and read stuff about how humor makes presentations and speeches a lot better and more engaging for the audience. It’s no wonder then why we can all learn from comedians on how to be experts in our field and hopefully become the presentation guru that we visualize ourselves to be.

Below are eleven (11) tips we can learn from comedians on how to become a presentation guru.

Coco Chanel once said: “Before you head out the door, take one thing off from among the accessories you’ve put on.” It’s actually the same with presentations. Before you close your PC for the night, before you decide that you’re already done with the preparation you did for your presentation, look over everything again and see what can be taken out.

Sometimes, presenters get so obsessed with perfecting their presentations that they don’t realize they’ve put too much “accessories” and other unnecessary stuff that can ultimately distract them from making an impact and making a point.

Below are some of the things you might want to remove to make your presentation cleaner, more impactful and influential, and more straight to the point.

Slide jewelry – thisrefers to charts, graphics, effects, transitions, videos, sounds and pictures. Make sure you only have what you really need. Too many of these things can be very distracting for your audience.